Tray for carmels

ABSTRACT

A one-piece multicavity tray suitable for receiving, supporting and displaying high density candies which tend to flow in warm climates, has smooth bottom surface cavities, partitions of inverted U-shape section separating cavities, a continuous lateral peripheral flange terminating in a fluted skirt for supporting the peripheral cavities well off the bottom of the box in which to loaded trays are placed, and in place of the rippling or ribbing usually used in the bottoms of the cavities, internal support for the tray is provided by forming a plurality of distributed steps which extend downwardly from intermediate portions of the partitions below the plane of the bottom of the cavities to bear against the bottom of the said box.

United States Patent 3,074,582 1/1963 Martelliet a1.

lnventor Hugh R. Weiss Montclair, NJ. (c/o The Pantasote Co., 26 Jefi'erson St., Passaic, NJ. 07055) Appl. No. 874,240 Filed Nov. 5, 1969 Patented May 11, 1971 TRAY FOR CARMELS 1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figs.

US. (I 229/15, 229/2.5, 220/23.8, 217/265 Int. Cl B65d l/36, 865d 1/00 Field of Search ..229/ 15, 2.5; 220/97, 23.8; 217/265 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3 "W -{align wil I l. 'lllll Inuit/Iii 3,310,218 3/1967 Reifersetal 3,501,080 3/1970 Govatson Primary Examiner-David M. Bockenek Attorney-Medert & Tegrotenhuis ties, internal support for the tray is provided by forming a plurality of distributed steps which extend downwardly from intennediate portions of the partitions below the plane of the bottom of the cavities to bear against the bottom of the said box.

TRAY FOR CARMELS The present invention relates to a tray which is suitable for packaging-and displaying candy. It particularly relates to a tray which is suitable for packaging anddisplaying carmels and the like which have a tendency to melt andflow in hot weather and have a very high density.

In the packaging of candy by the use of the one-piece multicavity trays customarily used, ribbing is put in the bottom of the cavities of the tray to help support the tray on the bottom of the box in which it is enclosed and to increase strength and stiffness of the bottoms of the cavities. In the case of carmels, in warm climates there is a great tendency for the candy to flow unless the pieces are individually wrapped. When such flow occurs the candy will take the shape ,of the ribbed bottom of the cavity. It is, therefore, undesirable in boxes of carmels to have ribbing in the bottom of individual cavities to support the heavily loaded tray away from the bottom of the box in which it is packed. It is also undesirable to have steps built into the bottoms of the cavities or compartments themselves for the same reason. 1

I have found, in accordance with the present invention, that depending steps built into the partition area, i.e. into partitions which separate individual cavities or compartments, adequately support the tray against flexure by the high density candy and also eliminate the need for ribbing to hold the bottoms of the compartments well above the bottom of the box. These steps or protrusions extend well below the surface of the individual candy-containing cavities and are adapted to bear against the bottom of the box in which the loaded tray is placed. I

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tray suitable for receiving, displaying and protecting carmels and candies which tend to flow in warm climates and which will support the individual pieces of candy off the bottom of the box and still maintain smooth surface.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a onepiece multicompartment candy tray having compartments with flat bottoms that support the heavy pieces of candy well off the bottom of the box in which the tray is incorporated.

The above and otherobjects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention, as illustrated by the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a candy tray embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the tray of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, in which like parts are desigiated by like numerals of reference throughout the several views, the tray 1 of the present invention is vacuum-formed from a single sheet of thermoplastic resin, such as polyvinyl chloride, and comprises a plurality of rectangularly shaped cavities 2, arranged in side-by-side relation. Each of the v cavities 2 has a flat bottom portion 3, and sidewalls 4 which are vertically fluted for stiffness. Adjacent sidewalls 4 of adjacent cavities are joined at their upper edges by a relatively flat strip portion 5 to form partitions of inverted generally U-sha'ped cross section between the adjacent cavities.

Around the entire tray is a peripheral flange 7 which is integrally joined at its inner edge to the upper portion of the outer sidewalls of all of the peripheral cavities in the tray. The

flange 7is relatively flat and its outer edge is joined by a vertical, downwardly extending skirt 8, which is also fluted for increased strength against deflection when the tray is heavily loaded. The skirt 8 extends substantially below the bottom 3 of the cavities so that it is adapted to support the tray along the periphery thereof and help keep the bottom 3 of the cavities 2 well above the bottom of the box in which the loaded tray is placed.

The sidewalls 4, which sidewalls are next. adjacent to sidewalls of other cavities, extend generally vertically but are of lesser height than the outer peripheral sidewalls 40 so that the upper surface of the strips 5 is below the plane of the peripheral flan e7.

As a ma or eature of the present invention, portions of some of the partitions formed by the sidewalls 4 and the strips 5 have portions removed and the material thereof forced downwardly below the plane of the bottom 3 of the various compartments 2 to form supports 10, which are of generally U-shaped cross section and have sidewalls 11 which extend downwardly below the bottom 3 of the compartments 2 and preferably below the the plane of the lower peripheral edge of the skirt 8. The supports 10 may have a relatively flat bottom surface 12 which is adapted to bear against the bottom of the box in which the trays! are incorporated and thus prevent distortion of the heavily loaded trays by the candy therein.

- Inasmuch as the trays of the present invention are especially adapted to receive carmels and pieces of candy of very high density, and do not have the usual ribbing, the material of the bottom and the sidewalls of the cavities 3 is preferably of substantially equal thickness, equal to the thickness of the lateral peripheral flange 7 and the strip 5.

It is also apparent that in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, modifications of the invention may be made without changing the spirit thereof.

I claim:

l. A one-piece multicompartment tray suitable for displaying, transporting and protecting pieces of candy which have a tendency to flow dun'ng warm weather, said tray comprising a plurality of generally rectangularly shaped cavities arranged adjacent to each other, each of said cavities having vertically fluted sidewalls and a bottom, adjacent sidewalls of adjacent cavities being joined together at their upper edges through a flat strip to form hollow ribs of generally inverted U-shaped cross section, a lateral flange extending around the entire periphery of the tray continuously joined at its inner peripheral edge and integral with the upper outer wall portions of the walls of the peripheral cavities of said tray, the outer edge of said lateral flange being joined to and integral with a downwardly extending peripheral skirt also having vertical flutes formed therein, some of the generally inverted U- shaped ribs extending longitudinally the length of said tray and some of said ribs extending transversely of the tray and joining with the outer sidewall of peripheral cavities, said ribs forming partitions between the individual cavities to retain and hold pieces of candy that may be placed in said cavities, a portion of some of said ribs being removed and the material thereof being displaced in a reverse direction below the plane of the bottom surface of the cavities of the tray to form a plurality of internally spaced supports which are enclosed within the periphery of said peripheral skirt and extend below the bottom of the compartments to bear against the bottom of the box in. which the tray is incorporated. 

1. A one-piece multicompartment tray suitable for displaying, transporting and protecting pieces of candy which have a tendency to flow during warm weather, said tray comprising a plurality of generally rectangularly shaped cavities arranged adjacent to each other, each of said cavities having vertically fluted sidewalls and a bottom, adjacent sidewalls of adjacent cavities being joined together at their upper edges through a flat strip to form hollow ribs of generally inverted U-shaped cross section, a lateral flange extending around the entire periphery of the tray continuously joined at its inner peripheral edge and integral with the upper outer wall portions of the walls of the peripheral cavities of said tray, the outer edge of said lateral flange being joined to and integral with a downwardly extending peripheral skirt also having vertical flutes formed therein, some of the generally inverted U-shaped ribs extending longitudinally the length of said tray and some of said ribs extending transversely of the tray and joining with the outer sidewall of peripheral cavities, said ribs forming partitions between the individual cavities to retain and hold pieces of candy that may be placed in said cavities, a portion of some of said ribs being removeD and the material thereof being displaced in a reverse direction below the plane of the bottom surface of the cavities of the tray to form a plurality of internally spaced supports which are enclosed within the periphery of said peripheral skirt and extend below the bottom of the compartments to bear against the bottom of the box in which the tray is incorporated. 